When I was a kid, I loved black olives. My mother would put them in our salads and I would take them and put my fingers into the holes of the pitted olives. Then I would eat them off my fingers. Doesn’t every kid do this? I would munch all the olives so that by the time we sat down to dinner, there were none left in the salad.
Today I play with olives in a whole different way. I chop them up or slice them and add them to my recipes. One thing that hasn’t changed is that I still munch them while I’m cooking, straight out of the jar or can.
So I was super-excited when I was given a few jars of specialty olives from Pearls. Pearls is the brand of olives from the Musco Family Olive Co., a family-owned business that has generations of olive expertise. In fact, olives is all they do and they do it well. Started by Nicolo Musco who came to America from Italy in 1922, Musco has become the main supplier of table olives in America.
With Nicolo’s family running the business, Musco has state-of-the-art facilities in California and they honor his philosophy of “making a good thing even better.” Between the Pearls brand and the Early California brand, Musco is the dominant supplier of olives so chances are good that if you are eating olives, they came from the Musco Family Olive Co. They are also leaders in environmental sustainability.
The Pearls web site has so much information about olives including how they get from the tree to the table. Did you know the olive tree is also called “the immortal tree?” Do you know how olives are either black or green? I didn’t but now I do.
Olives may be the only thing Pearls make but they make a large variety of them. They offer California Black Ripe Olives, Fresh Cured Olives, Spanish Green Olives (my favorites) and a bunch of Specialty Olives.
They even make Olives To Go in these adorable cups so you can pack them in your lunch or take them wherever you go. I wish those had existed when I was a kid!
Pearls sent me 3 of their specialty olives: Garlic, Lemon & Thyme, Herbs & Sweet Pepper and Spicy Esabeche. If you know me at all, it’s no surprise I went straight for the Spicy Esabeche.
Escabeche is a popular condiment in Spanish, Mexican and Latin cooking. It consists of jalapeno peppers, carrots, red peppers, onions, garlic and oregano that is pickled in tangy vinegar. It’s often served as a sauce on top of chicken or fish. Spicy Escabeche Olives are California-grown and hand-picked Sevillano olives that are cured to become firm and crunchy. Then they are combined with the ingredients of escabeche – red peppers, sea salt, vermouth, white wine vinegar, citric acid -. to create a flavorful condiment or treat.
When I finished munching half of them straight out of the jar, I thought about how to use them in a recipe. I thought I could use the olives and their juice as a shortcut to making my own escabeche dish. So I cooked up a bag of Butler Soy Curls (my addiction) with Spanish spices and then used them with the olives to make a truly incredible dish.
I added extra veggies, of course – carrots, bell peppers, broccoli, and fresh chile. I used both the olives (which are a fruit) and the juice from the jar along with some extra vinegar. more Spanish spices and brown sugar to balance it all.
My Vegan “Pollo” Esabeche was amazing. Crisp and spicy soy curls with fresh veggies in a spicy, tangy and flavorful sauce with amazing sliced olives.
You could make this same dish with tofu, tempeh, or seitan or just make the sauce to serve with veggies. These olives would be delicious on pizza or in salads. There are lots of recipe ideas on the Pearls Olives Web Site. You should definitely check it out and then you should make my Vegan “Pollo” Escabeche.
Thank you, Pearls Olives and the Musco Family Olive Co., for the yummy olives that inspired this recipe. I can’t wait to try the other ones – hopefully, in a recipe and not just off my fingers – though I can’t promise anything. Enjoy!
Vegan “Pollo” Escabeche
GF
For the “Pollo”
1 bag Butler soy curls
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. ground allspice
Vegetable oil, for frying
For the dish
1 onion, quartered and sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, cut into thin coins
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 chile, seeded and minced
1 Tbs. brown sugar
3 cups broccoli florets, chopped
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground coriander
½ tsp. black pepper
10 Pearls Spicy Escabeche Olives, sliced
3-4 Tbs. olive juice
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup vegetable broth
Kosher salt to taste
To make the “pollo”: Empty the soy curls into a large bowl and fill with hot water. Let sit for 10 minutes until the curls soften. While they are softening, combine the ingredients for the spice mix. Squeeze the excess water from them and drain. Pat dry. Toss with the spice mix. Heat a deep saucepan or skillet with oil over medium-high heat. Add the soy curls to the pan and cook until browned and crisp, flipping often, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and try really hard not to eat them.
To make the dish: In the same pan, add the onion and cook for 3 minutes until they start to soften. Add the bell pepper and the carrots and cook another 3-4 minutes until softened. Mix in the garlic, chile and brown sugar. Toss to coat the veggies in the aromatics. Add the broccoli and cook for 2 minutes. Mix in the cumin, paprika, oregano, coriander, and black pepper. Add the olives, olive juice, vinegar and broth. Add the soy curls back into the pan and mix everything well. Cook the stew for 5-10 minutes until everything is heated through. Taste for seasoning adjustments and add salt to taste. Serve over rice.
The “V” Word: Say it. Eat it. Live it.
- For the “Pollo”
- 1 bag soy curls
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. ground coriander
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- ½ tsp. black pepper
- ¼ tsp. ground allspice
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- For the dish
- 1 onion, quartered and sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 large carrot, cut into thin coins
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 chile, seeded and minced
- 1 Tbs. brown sugar
- 3 cups broccoli florets, chopped
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. ground coriander
- ½ tsp. black pepper
- 10 Escabeche olives, sliced
- 3-4 Tbs. olive juice
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup vegetable broth
- Kosher salt to taste
- To make the “pollo”:
- Empty the soy curls into a large bowl and fill with hot water. Let sit for 10 minutes until the curls soften.
- While they are softening, combine the ingredients for the spice mix. Squeeze the excess water from them and drain. Pat dry. Toss with the spice mix.
- Heat a deep saucepan or skillet with oil over medium-high heat. Add the soy curls to the pan and cook until browned and crisp, flipping often, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and try really hard not to eat them.
- To make the dish:
- In the same pan, add the onion and cook for 3 minutes until they start to soften.
- Add the bell pepper and the carrots and cook another 3-4 minutes until softened. Mix in the garlic, chile and brown sugar. Toss to coat the veggies in the aromatics.
- Add the broccoli and cook for 2 minutes. Mix in the cumin, paprika, oregano, coriander, and black pepper. Add the olives, olive juice, vinegar and broth.
- Add the soy curls back into the pan and mix everything well.
- Cook the stew for 5-10 minutes until everything is heated through.
- Taste for seasoning adjustments and add salt to taste. Serve over rice.
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